Formula One: Team Virgin gives up hopes of 10th place finish
Virgin team driver Timo Glock has finally admitted that the team’s desire of finishing the season at 10th place in the 2010 Constructors' World Championship does not seem possible now.
Virgin, HRT and Lotus have not been able to win a single point all through the season. 15 rounds for the 2010 season have concluded and only 4 or probably 3 races are yet to take place. The fate of the Korean Grand Prix is still uncertain due to delay in
track construction. As the season is almost winding up, Glock is not expecting the team do any wonders on the track.
Amongst all the drivers from the rookie teams, Heikki Kovalainen has had the best finish of the year as he ended the Australian Grand Prix at 13th place in March. This means Lotus would be able to stand taller than the other two new teams, occupying
the 10th spot in the charts, ahead of its competitors, HRT and Virgin.
Timo Glock, while talking to reporters on Wednesday said that even though there are four more races yet to go, and he still does not see bright chances for himself. "It will be very difficult," he exclaimed. "Maybe if there's a crazy wet race or something
like that, otherwise I don't see any chance."
Finishing at 10th place was essential for them, not only to set their repute as a valuable addition to Formula One’s squad, but also in terms of financial support. At the start of the 2010 season, Formula One Chief Bernie Ecclestone announced
a special bonus to the most promising new team. However, Virgin is highly unlikely to get their hands on it. Moreover, the sport's commercial prize-money pool is also distributed amongst the top 10 finishers of the Constructors' Championship. These two amounts
add up to the tune of millions of dollars - a funding that is badly required by all three teams.
At the start of 2010 season, the main sponsor for Virgin Racing, Sir Richard Branson was so confident for his team, that he jumped into a bet with Tony Fernandes, the boss for Team Lotus, which is their closest competitor. Branson, the owner of Virgin Airline
and Fernandes who owns AirAsia Airline agreed that the loser must spend a day, uniformed in a stewardess dress and substitute her at work at the other's airline.
As the season takes its penultimate twists and turns, Branson, seeing his team’s chances, talked to the media last week where he said, "I think Tony will be fetching as a Virgin stewardess," the billionaire further added, "I think he is making an outfit
for me as well." With these remarks, one can vividly estimate that Virgin does not hope of clinching a better finish for the rest of the season.
However, Branson believes that though they encountered a tough 2010 season yet he thinks that the following season would bring better times for them. He vowed to stay committed to Formula One, and claimed that he would head for the 2011 season with more
aggression and determination.
He concluded by telling, "Our staff is looking for new sponsors for next season, so there will be less room [on the car] for Virgin."
Both team drivers, Timo Glock and Lucas Di Grassi, failed to score any points all through the season. Glock retired in 7 out of the 15 races while his best finish was at the 16th place at the Hungarian Grand Prix. While on the other hand, Di Grassi
has retired in six races so far, ending his best round at 14th place in Malaysia.
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